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    The 2005-06 season marked the debut of the Jack Stephens Center, the new $25-million home of UALR Athletics.  Thanks to a generous $22.4 million gift from Jackson T. Stephens, the late Little Rock businessman and philanthropist, the UALR volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball teams made the move to the state-of-the-art 5,600 seat facility which is second to none.

“If you open up the dictionary to philanthropic, you should see a picture of Jack Stephens,” said UALR Director of Athletics Chris Peterson.  “He has changed the face of UALR Athletics forever, just like he has changed the lives of millions of people worldwide.”

“The first word that comes to mind when you mention Mr. Stephens is generosity. If there is a more generous human being out there I would like to meet him,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “To see the impact his generosity has had at UALR is tremendous. All the extra amenities we have in this arena — the weight room, the locker rooms and the academic center — are all a credit to Mr. Stephens. From everything I know about the man, if he was going to be a part of something it was going to be first class. I think that is evident in this arena.”

Measuring 149,000 square feet, the Jack Stephens Center features a full-court practice gym named after UALR alum Derek Fisher, an academic support center complete with 23 computer terminals, a first-class weight room, an athletic training room, locker rooms for basketball and volleyball, and a NIKE team store.  In addition, the arena houses the offices for the men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball coaches, as well as the athletic administration and support staff.

“If there is a nicer, more efficient 5,600-seat basketball venue in the country, I would like to see it,” added Peterson.  “And that’s the way it should be with Jack Stephens’ name on it.”

The arena features leather chair back seating, a dozen luxury suites, and more than 70 percent of its seats between the end lines. Each end of the court sports a 90-foot scoreboard with a video board and statistics panel.

The athletic locker rooms are equipped with a lounge area and a video room. The lounge area includes a TV and seating area, while the video room sports theatre seating, a 62 inch TV, and custom made dry erase boards. In addition, the main wall in the video room doubles as a dry erase board to aid the coaches in their game preparation.

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